With economy mired and bureaucracy rampant, French government predicts rosy future (in 2025)

PARIS – No unemployment, plenty of cheap housing, a new Industrial Revolution and Police 3.0. Those are the French government's predictions for the year 2025.

Leaders in the Socialist administration, who are under criticism for the struggling economy, met Monday for a seminar of the future.

Grappling with an unemployment rate over 10 percent and a huge budget deficit, officials looked ahead — far ahead. Pierre Moscovici, the finance minister, predicted full employment. The housing minister, Cecile Duflot, said housing would be plentiful and affordable, and looking for a new home would be "a pleasurable stage of life."

There were skeptics.

"Voila, a government aware of its inabilities and weaknesses, that is trying to cover them up by conjuring up dreams of a radiant future," said Roger Karoutchi, of the conservative UMP.